Just as the ways that we shop have undergone dramatic alterations over the past decade (think online auctions, cyber sales assistants, and flash sales), the retail transaction is poised to see tremendous transformations in the years ahead as well. Not everyone is comfortable with the idea of
digital wallets quite yet, but with more merchants and consumers alike looking to ditch clunky cash registers and doorstopper billfolds, the technology is evolving.
PayPal Here: Square has become a vital tool among small business owners who operate between the online realm and the real world, whether it be by running a
flea market stall or making guest appearances at
curated retail events. Looking to capture that expanding mode of entrepreneurship, PayPal recently launched a competitor. Called
PayPal Here, the credit card-swiping smartphone attachment, designed in an
au courant triangular shape by
Yves Behar-helmed firm
Fuseproject, works with a companion app to do the work normally done by a cash register. Besides processing financial plastic, the app can also issue invoices and can even, through photos of checks and credit cards, process payments minus the magic triangle.
Square Register: Having already gained dominance in the social media arena, Twitter inventor Jack Dorsey is continuing to expand his reign on the digital payment category. Dorsey, also the co-founder of Square, recently took the next step in growing his mobile payment company by introducing
Square Register, an iPad application that enables merchants to accept credit cards and cash payments. This monetary flexibility is key for the types of small businesses replacing traditional cash registers with digital technologies, and marks what could see more widespread adoption of the already popular Square brand. Plus, the program has a
loyalty tracking programming, through which merchants can easily reward repeat customers to keep them coming back for more.
Geode: The original intent of an iPhone case has been supplanted by more
aesthetic concerns, yet
new cases that boast enhanced capabilities other than preserving hardware and/or pleasing the eye are also trickling to market. One such,
iCache’s Geode, may free up room in users’ pockets and bags by eradicating bulging wallet syndrome. The forthcoming digital wallet, which has already raised its target Kickstarter funding five times over and then some, is embedded with payment technology that stores not only credit cards but also gift cards, loyalty cards, and membership cards. A companion app protects personal information with biometric security, meaning the fingerprints of each phone’s owner are the only ones that can unlock it.
